So I spoke with my bud G recently, and she asked me how much I was working. I always feel like I can be more efficient than I am, so I kinda just threw out 45-55 hrs. I mean, sure, I’ve been saying that I am in Startup Mode, but I dunno: I haven’t really been tallying my hours and it’s kinda hard for me to estimate if I don’t really have productivity/results, you know?

So afterwards, I asked John just to see what his gauge was. He was like, “Um, it’s way more than that. I mean, what else have you been doing other than real estate?” Ok, touche. Yes, I seriously have been living, breathing, eating real estate. So fine. He guesstimated at least 70 hrs/week. I suppose I have been working every day of the week. And like today, I had a buyer consult in the morning followed by my open house, followed by research/emails all evening to try and “win the buyers” before their decision tomorrow…

It’s weird, bc I really do lose track of time. Like both my dad and Bubbey are telling me to step away and get some rest. But I’m in the zone! And there’s always so much to think about. I suppose the good news is that I am liking all this stuff. The bad news is, I’m really concerned about scoring my next deal, esp now that I will be away for seven days in North Carolina. I have a major fear of losing momentum.

My buyer consult this morning went well. At least I felt it did. I was meeting a Chinese couple– the guy used to work with Bubs. And Bubs, on learning that they were researching investment properties, actually plugged me to them! OMG, J and I got into a fight about it too, bc I was relaxing a few days ago and didn’t reply immediately to the guy’s email to set up a meeting. In fact, I was crafting a reply within 15-20 minutes of getting his message, and I was proofreading my reply just as I always do (I used to work in communications, for fuck’s sake!), and Bubs jumped on me about taking too damn long. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I was so goddamn pissed. I ask him to do a few things and he drags ass for DAYS and eventually never even gets my requests done. Now he’s harping on me about taking 20 minutes? Fuck off. I was so angry by the audacity. Seriously. I’ve been busting my ass, doing real estate since November. He plugs me to a friend/acquaintance for maybe the THIRD time ever, and I’m supposed to drop everything? I was SUPER angry.

Anyway, I met with the couple this morning. We had a good intro conversation for nearly an hour. I mean, the conversation flowed naturally and easily, but of course, I had anxiety all last night. Couldn’t sleep then woke up with all kinds of bowel issues. I crammed a bunch of data and stats before 9 am. I’m telling you, I never know what to expect so I over prepare like a crazy woman.

Anyway, I tried to do what Bubbey suggested to me before, which is to demonstrate my knowledge/competence through storytelling and anecdotes rather than just unemotional, factual statements. So for example, we talked about preparing strong offer packages and I mentioned what I did with my last buyers to help them win. Then we talked about crime/safety and I shared how someone at my open house was all concerned about seeing trash scavengers or RVs parked on the street. I explained how the crime reports/heat maps provide some information but ultimately, safety is subjective. People have different tolerances: like scavengers and RVs would freak my parents out but most tech millennials I encounter at the open houses don’t seem to mind a little bit of scruff in the ‘hood. And they laughed when I mentioned my safety-obsessed parents bc they could relate.

They were also concerned about HOA docs and inspection reports. I said that part of my role is to identify what issues are serious and legit and worth negotiating with the seller. I explained that a lot of times first-time buyers worry about every little thing that comes up in the reports, bc they don’t really have a grasp of its severity and the cost to fix it. I once combed through a report that said the electrical panel was a brand that had malfunction issues. Is it a fire hazard? Does it need to be replaced? Look: this is not a new house. The sellers have been living with that panel and using it for six years without issue. Not going to be addressed.

They asked how well I know the neighborhoods in San Mateo. It’s been eight years since I lived there but I have several friends in the area and all of them live in condo/TH communities. Then I rattled those places off… so yeah, I really tried to elaborate with personal info rather than just give yes/no answers.

After the meeting, I drove off to prep for my open house. It was another scorcher of a day and the property had no A/C. Once again, placing my signs was a beotch. MV is such a pain bc there are no good places to park near the intersections, so I have to drive a ways off, find a lot or space, and then walk back or cross the train tracks or whatever. And my Dr. Scholls loafers are giving me blisters, so there’s that. And then at the open house, it was busy yesterday but totally dead today until the final hour. Then a bunch of people came at once and I didn’t gather all their info bc I was talking to one couple while the other two ran off. And then, every. damn. time when I’m closing up shop after 4pm, someone shows up wanting to have a look. Mind you, all the lights are off and I packed away my flyer and snacks and supplies… fucking A. So annoying but I always let them look. Needless to say, I never finish my open houses on time and then I’m like hot, sweating, hungry, tired and I have to get those fucking signs again. Yeah, I was cranky today.

After I got home, I had to write the post-session report (I always get compliments from the listing agents for my detail and thoroughness) and then follow up with visitors. Around 7pm, I took a break to watch Married at First Sight and cram my piehole. Then, I was thinking more about my buyer consult this morning. After our meeting, I had sent a thank you email and they replied that they would be making a decision tomorrow. I was going to just wait and hear the news tomorrow. Then, OCD Vix kicked in. I mean, have I done everything possible to get the gig? Nope. So I culled together all these stats and ran a bunch of searches and scanned through properties. Seriously. Excel spreadsheets, line graphs, then the explanatory email, edited a gabillion times, blah, blah. Next thing you know it’s 11 pm. But I HAD to do it, bc I knew if I got bad news tomorrow, I would only beat myself up about it.

Oh btw, laptop update. You know how I got a new laptop bc my other one wonked out in the middle of my transaction? Well new lappie finally arrived (a week late) and I immediately fell in love with it. Now it has an audio problem. A component issue that can only be repaired by shipping it in and by being out of commission for two weeks. Um, my laptop is my livelihood. I cannot have NO laptop for two weeks. HP would not help me out, so now I had to purchase a second laptop so that I can move my data from this one to the new one and then return the defective one. Meanwhile, the second laptop still hasn’t shipped. Argh. Technology fail, but at least I can return bc it’s within the return period.

Ok, time to wind it down.